


A Stronger Me Than Yesterday

by InterstellarVagabond



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, during canon but placed vaguely, maki mentioned but not seen, subtle mentions of self harm, vaguely implied shuichi/kaito/maki but not mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-03-29 17:05:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19024228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InterstellarVagabond/pseuds/InterstellarVagabond
Summary: Shuichi skips training to be alone, thinking that he's not going to improve from where he is now. Kaito, always unwilling to let his sidekick wallow in sadness, comes to find him.





	A Stronger Me Than Yesterday

The academy they found themselves trapped in had little Shuichi would call “good.” In fact, there was really only one thing about he considered “good” and that was that the campus had many good places to hide. 

With the exisals still clearing away rubble and growth, the building that nature had reclaimed was perfect for losing yourself and whoever might want to find you. Shuichi had been taking advantage of that, spending the night leaning against a shattered marble figure that might have once been a statue. Thinking himself alone, he let his guard down and allowed his shoulders to dip just a little lower, allowed his hands to come unballed from the fists he’d made when they’d started to shake. He pulled his legs up to his chest, and leaned forward till his forehead rested on his knees. Curled up in this position, he didn’t see someone approaching until they were leaning against the ruined statue and looking down at him.

“So, you think you can get away with skipping training, huh?” Kaito tsked, causing Shuichi to jump in surprise.

“Kaito!” he exclaimed. “Ah… no, I was going to go I just…”

“It’s alright, I made Maki do extra push-ups for you,” Kaito said with a grin and thumbs up. He took a seat on the grass next to Shuichi, who moved over to make room.

“I doubt she liked that,” Shuichi sighed. 

“It’s alright, I told her you would do her push-ups next time.” Kaito winked, and Shuichi found himself laughing despite the promise of sore arms in the future. 

“Hell of a view,” Kaito remarked, looking up past the bars that kept them inside to the stars that shone just out of reach. “It’ll look even better when I’m actually up there of course.”

Shuichi nodded, his heart not really in the conversation. He pulled at his sleeves, as if the half inch they’d risen from his wrists would reveal the secrets hidden a ways higher. 

“Still, stargazing is no reason to skip training,” Kaito said. “That’s something you have to work at everyday if you’re going to get stronger and take down that enemy of yours.”

“I don’t know if getting stronger is something I can do,” Shuichi admitted. 

“That’s quitter talk!” Kaito huffed, though it was starting to become clear to Shuichi when Kaito’s annoyance was real and when it was a tactic to spur someone into thinking about what they were saying. “What’s got you so sure you’re not getting stronger, huh?”

Shuichi shrank in on himself again, eyes sinking from the stars down to the grass. 

“I thought I could do this,” he said. “Reveal the truth without being afraid, and face the consequences without burning myself out. But it’s so hard, and sometimes I just want to give up, because what if it’s not possible for me to change? I’m probably just like this. A coward, and a useless sad deadweight.”

Shuichi was once again surprised by not paying attention to his surroundings, as Kaito’s hand clapped down on his shoulder and squeezed it affirmingly. 

“First of all, no sidekick of mine is deadweight,” Kaito said. “Second of all, have you even been paying attention to yourself?”

Shuichi watched as Kaito stood up, and stepped in front of Shuichi like he was about to give a speech. With the way he was posing like a hero, the odds of a speech were growing by the second.

“You’ve faced so many things that scared you,” Kaito said. “The way you get to the bottom of a mystery and refuse to back down at a class trial proves it. You’re not the same guy who hid under his hat away from everyone the first couple of days we were here. Just because you have bad days when your enemy wins doesn’t mean you’re done fighting! I’ve seen you get back up, and I know you’re going to do it again. You’re a stronger Shuichi today than you were yesterday, and you’re gonna get even stronger.”

Shuichi was stunned into silence for awhile, and then he realized he’d started to tear up a bit. He stood up, intending to thank Kaito and suggest they return to the dorms, but when he stood Kaito suddenly pulled him into a hug. 

“Don’t try to take it on alone,” Kaito said when he pulled away, one hand still resting on Shuichi’s shoulder. “You’re my sidekick, so that means you can always come to me.”

Shuichi felt his arms sting a little, and was uncertain if it was the pressure from the sudden hug or the force of Kaito’s gaze on him causing that. Part of him wanted to ignore the sting, to just nod along and tell Kaito what he wanted to hear and then go back to his room where he could finish these feelings where no one could see. 

That part of him didn’t stand a chance to the stronger Shuichi, who was starting to learn that people wanted to spend time with him, cared about how he felt, and believed in his best self. 

“Then…” he said, voice unsteady and uncertain as he spoke, “could we spend a bit more time together? I… I shouldn’t be alone right now, as much as I want to be.”

Kaito smiled softly and nodded. “Wanna go back to my room? It’s getting cold out here.”

“It’d probably be less cold if you wore your jacket right,” Shuichi pointed out.

“This is part of my look!” Kaito insisted loudly, taking on his signature pose with his fists pressed together in front of him. 

Shuichi laughed, and the weight that laugh took off his shoulders stayed with him as they walked back to the dorms. He still felt scared, and sad. He still felt like he wasn’t happy with the person he was. But Kaito was still talking far too loud for the middle of the night and trying to make Shuichi laugh, and as they walked together Shuichi knew that despite the other things he felt, he also felt just a little bit stronger.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a hasty short little thing inspired by something my roommate, the same guy who got me into this series, told me tonight following a bit of a spiral. It stuck with me, and when we were done talking I thought these two would be a good place to write about the lesson I'd just had lovingly beaten into my stubborn head. 
> 
> We're all a stronger person than we were yesterday just by waking up and trying again.


End file.
